Saturday, April 25, 2009

Mets Continue To Slight Past Stars

Today in Ken Davidoff - Newsday, there is a story where former Met Ron Hunt has contacted the Mets asking if he could have a pair of seats from Shea Stadium as a memento. Hunt was given a resounding 'NO'. Hunt would not disclose with whom he spoke with.

Hunt was the first Met selected to start the All Star game in 1964. He was the first Met to get a hit and hit a home run at Shea Stadium.

Hunt told Newsday when he called the Mets, "They wanted money, and I told them, 'I played for 7,000 dollars [a year] and had to play for four years to get a pension. If you can't get me two seats, then stick them up your --."

Hunt, who lives on a farm in Wentzville, MO, has a collection of seats from the Polo Grounds, the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and Crosley Field in Cincinnati. He really wanted to add two seats from Shea to his collection, but was told the price was $869 for a pair. Hunt recounts, "They told me that everybody was buying them, and I said, 'I'm not everybody, I'm the first All-Star. There is no second there."

When the Mets were contacted, VP of Marketing and Communications, David Newman explained, "Because Shea was [New York] City-owned property, there were no comps or discounts."

Davidoff has a novel idea: “...what if the Mets allotted, say, $43,450 to get 50 pairs of seats for people important in the franchise's history? Or even $21,725 for 25 pairs? That would've been a nice, inclusive gesture.”

Once again, the lack of respect this organization has for those who played for them is inexcusable. Would giving a lousy pair of seats to their former 2B who was the one who hit the first HR at Shea, got the first Mets hit at Shea, and was the first Met elected to start an All Star game. He also finished second to Pete Rose in the 1963 Rookie of The Year voting.